The Storylines
• The Thursday 5 p.m. contest at Arkansas State marks ULM's first of four consecutive Sun Belt road games, something it will see twice on the year. The Warhawks' Saturday tilt is at 4 p.m. against Little Rock.
• The Jonesboro trip marks ULM's second outside of Louisiana on the year (Dec. 5 at TCU).
• ULM is looking to avenge a nail-biting loss to Appalachian State on New Year's Eve, a game that featured 18 lead changes. The Warhawks faced a nine-point deficit with 50 seconds remaining in the third quarter and went on an 11-2 run from there to get back in again.
• Two of the Sun Belt's top three scorers will square off with one another. Alayshia Hunter's 18.3 points per game rank second, and her 61.7 percent showing from the field tops the leaderboard. The Red Wolves' Aundrea Gamble will look to challenge ULM's second-ranked defense (36.9 percent field goal shooting). Gamble's 17.5 ppg is third in the league and her 4.5-assist average is second.
• Arkansas State enters the game with a Sun Belt-best 44.2 field goal percentage. ULM is fourth (40.6 percent).
The Opponent
Arkansas State comes in with an 8-3 record, including back-to-back road wins at Troy (101-81) and South Alabama (66-53) to open Sun Belt play. The Red Wolves were dealt tough blows in each of their three defeats, falling by four to Florida, one to mid-major power Chattanooga and eight at Nebraska. Aundrea Gamble (17.5 ppg) and Khadi Brown-Haywood (15.2 ppg) are the team's 1-2 punches, with Brown-Haywood also edging ULM's Daja Chase for the Sun Belt rebound lead at 8.8 rpg.
The Series
The Red Wolves have a 23-13 lead all-time, and the Warhawks' last two wins in the Sun Belt rivalry were both by double-digits in 2011. The Warhawks won 55-45 on Feb. 10 and again 83-57 on Dec. 31, both in Monroe. ULM won the first seven meetings (1983-86), scoring 86 points or more in all but one of those.
Last Warhawk-Red Wolf Meeting
JONESBORO, Ark. – Alayshia Hunter scored a career-high 22 points to lead the Warhawks, but the ULM women's basketball program fell 69-61 to Arkansas State on Saturday afternoon in the Convocation Center.
ULM (10-15, 6-10 SBC) shot 44.4 percent from the field, while their defense limited the Red Wolves (18-8, 13-3 SBC) to just 28.6 percent from beyond the arc.
Hunter made a career-high 11-of-16 field goals (68.7 percent), grabbed five rebounds and had three blocks.
Sharnice Brooks collected her second double-double of the season with 18 points and 11 boards. The senior also had three blocks on the day.
Aundrea Gambled had a game-high 23 points for the Red Wolves.
Last ULM Game
MONROE, La. – ULM returned from its 11-day break and lost a hard-fought 57-54 decision to Appalachian State on Thursday in Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
There were 10 lead changes over a 3:58 span in the fourth quarter before Bria Carter's layup with 2:41 left gave Appalachian State a 53-52 lead for good. Daja Chase's game-tying attempt from the top of the key bounced off the rim.
“You never really know what to expect in the first game after Christmas break,” head coach Jeff Dow said. “I thought our stamina was less than it needed to be. You try to play catchup with practices after the break.”
The game turned in ULM's favor after an 11-2 run over a 3:20 span from the third-fourth quarters. Ashley Aune nailed a three-pointer from the top of the key that tied the game at 41, the first since the second quarter. Alayshia Hunter followed up with a shot high off the glass that gave ULM its first lead since the 2:15 point of the first period.
Hunter scored a game-high 14 points on 5-for-8 shooting, all in the second half. She played just four minutes in the first.
Statistical Leaders
ULM ranks in the upper echelon of the Sun Belt in free-throw percentage (4th, 70.9 percent), scoring margin (3rd, +4.9), field goal percentage (4th, 40.6), field goal percentage defense (2nd, 36.9), three-point percentage (4th, 32.7), assists (2nd, 13.5 per game) and rebounding margin (2nd, +3.9).
Eight players tied or set season or career-highs in the Dec. 19 win over LSU-Alexandria.
New Beginnings
The Warhawks made big strides in Jeff Dow's first year at the helm of the program, getting their most overall and conference wins since 2011-12. The team won back-to-back home openers for the first time since 2006-07 and came within a second of knocking off LSU for the fifth time in school history. The 4-1 start to this year was the best since 2009-10, the last winning ULM campaign.
